ATTENDANCES are down at Sixfields this season, but it is hoped a bumper crowd will turn out tonight for the npower League Two clash with Morecambe

Jefferson Lake

There are a whole laundry list of reasons why a win for the Cobblers over Morecambe on tonight (Tues, ko 7.45pm) would definitely be a very good thing.

In the short term, the three points could put the team in the npower League Two play-off zone with a trip to Oxford United next on the agenda.

Cobblers V MK Dons.'Football action. 'Pictured: Jefferson Lake and Steve Walsh presenting the Player of the Year award to Danny Jackman.'SPORT, SPORTSDESK.'090428SL35

No prizes are dished out for being seventh in November, but the psychological boost it would provide for the squad would be susbtantial, especially with a light at the end of the tunnel now in sight for a handful of players who will return to fitness in the New Year.

As the cliche goes, the January restitution of David Artell, Luke Guttridge and John Johnson will be like a triple arrival of three new players, all of them seniors and with hundreds of appearances to their name.

Their return might be so significant that the club might not need to undertake too much transfer activity, even with the window for permanent deals open.

But moving into the top seven is just a fleeting concern.

A win over Morecambe could have many more consequences for the club than just the three points on offer.

With ticket prices halved (and, in what is an excellent gesture, almost half of that money going to a cancer charity), the game will provide the club with the opportunity to show a large number of potential new supporters exactly what they are all about this season.

With the form the team is in, and with the much-loved Clarke Carlisle back on the books and on stand-by for a second debut - the timing might not have been better.

Provided the side keep the curve upward and keep scoring goals, there is every chance they can impress the expectant crowd.

Gates are down year-on-year. Last season the average attendance was 4,867 and although this year’s figure is yet to be swelled by the bumper Oxford gate, it is currently 4,366.

So 500 fans who were going every week no longer are, despite the on-field performances being dramatically improved and the squad much better equipped to challenge at the right end of the division.

Times are hard and people are more reluctant to part with their cash at the moment, especially during these dark and cold winter months.

But an entertaining win on Tuesday night might just change that, and bring some of the stay-away supporters back to Sixfields.